When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore.
True love is served daily at Cugino Forno, not only through its pizza, but also its customer service, atmosphere, and service to the community.
“We really love our customers,” said Pat Y. Gio, who co-owns the restaurant with his cousin Eren Yildirim. “Pizza is more than a meal - it’s a way of life for us.”
Opened in Frederick in 2022, the restaurant is housed in the former Coca-Cola Bottling Plant at 705 N. Market Street. The choice of location was intentional for many reasons. Pat knew he wanted to live in the DC area after spending three summers as an exchange student in Virginia Beach.
“I landed at Dulles Airport when I first came from Turkey. The weather was perfect around the DC area and I knew immediately that I wanted to live here someday.”
The building’s architecture played a key role in choosing the restaurant’s location. Each Cugino Forno is set in industrial-style buildings similar to those found in Napoli, Italy, where Pat’s distant relatives created the original recipe for the family pizzeria. Cugino Forno has other locations in North Carolina.
“The buildings of Cugino Forno all have an old, historical feel,” Pat explained. “We wanted a building that was unique with character.This building has so much rich history,” he noted, adding that many customers remember the property the way it was as a bottling company.
For this reason, many of the original walls and details have been preserved, allowing the space to speak for itself without extra clutter. “It’s neat when people who worked at the bottling company come back and share their experiences with us.”
As a classic Italian playlist flows through the speakers, the restaurant welcomes both seasoned and new customers to its friendly atmosphere. Guests first order at the counter, then have the option to sit inside at bench-style tables or outside at umbrellaed picnic tables. Both seating areas feature simple touches like plastic utensils in large tomato cans and rolls of paper towels.
“We keep our focus on the pizza, not on fancy decorations.”
Love of cuisine and tradition are baked into every slice of pizza created at Cugino Forno. The menu offers eleven different pies, three salad choices, gelato, imported and homemade desserts, imported wine and beer, and Coca-Cola products, giving guests an authentic taste of Italy.
Quality ingredients are what make Cugino Forno’s pizza unique. At least 80% of the ingredients are imported from Italy, including the flour, tomatoes, and cheeses. Every pizza is hand-tossed and baked in Italian wood-burning ovens between 900-1100 degrees. The gelato and cakes are also imported from Italy, while the cannolis are homemade.
“When you want the best taste you have to use the best ingredients. The most important thing is the quality. We do not cut any corners when it comes to that.”
The name Cugino Forno, meaning “cousin oven,” reflects Pat and Eren’s partnership.“We make great partners,” Pat said, noting that he tends to work out front in the restaurant meeting the needs of customers while Eren manages the back.
While a few other family members work at the restaurant, including Pat’s brother-in-law and sometimes the men’s spouses, the whole staff work so closely together that they have become like family.
Beyond the relationships they’ve built behind the counter, Pat and Eren are passionate about connecting with the Frederick collective.
“Community is really important to us. We grew up in a small neighborhood in Turkey where everyone knew each other. That’s what we want to create here, a place for people to meet and get to know each other.”
As a Rotarian in Turkey, Pat connected with the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek for insights on the area and its residents, bridging his two worlds.
“Mary Ford-Naill (a past president of the local Rotary) helped answer all the questions we had about the area, which allowed us to appreciate Frederick not only as a business location, but also our new home.”
Pat and Eren strive daily to live by the Rotary International motto of “Service above Self” by looking for ways to help anyone they can within Frederick and the surrounding community.
Some of the ways the pair have helped others include: providing food to firefighters in the midst of fighting a fire for hours; dropping off pizzas for police officers and other first responders while they are on duty; delivering food to homeless individuals throughout Downtown Frederick; teaching a make-your-own pizza day for individuals on the Spectrum and Beyond; and offering fundraising nights for nonprofits at the restaurant with 10-20% of the evening’s sales donated to the organization.
“My perspective on business has always been that we never think about ourselves,” explained Pat. “Instead we aim to do whatever we can for the people. We strive to pay back the community for all they have done and continue to do for us.”
In 2023, after a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey, the Frederick community and the Carroll Creek Rotary reached out to Pat and Eren to see how they could offer assistance to the people of their homeland.
“Customers asked how they could help. They asked how we were and how our family and friends in Turkey were doing. It really meant a lot to us and still does. We feel blessed to be a part of this strong community,” Pat said. “Since day one we have made it our goal to help others and we will continue to do so.”
CuginoForno.com/Pages/Frederick
“Pizza is more than a meal - it’s a way of life for us.”
“We aim to do whatever we can for the community.”